Dual depth bottle carrier



Nov. 19, 1963 E. H. THYEN DUAL DEPTH BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Sept. 28, 1962 fnz/erzi'or fericzrafffkyen f y W KW 4%? Q United States Patent 3,111,254 DUAL DEPTH BQTTLE CARRER Eberhard H. Thyen, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 227,602 1 {IlainL ('Cl. 229-44) This invention relates to carrier containers or cases for bottles, and more particularly to the type of carrier used for transporting bottles containing beer or soft drink beverages.

The invention comprehends an improved carrier adapted for use in the packaging and transportation of bottles of either of two different heights.

Certain types of bottles are provided with reusable caps or stoppers which increase the over-all height of the bottles when in closed position. An example of this is the so-called buegelverschluss bottle, commonly used in European countries such as Germany.

The buegelverschluss is a reusable closure consisting of a ceramic top attached to the neck of a bottle with a wire snap lock. When a bottle with a closure of this type is filled and closed it assumes a height dimension of approximately one-half an inch greater than when the bottle cap or stopper is in open position.

When paperboard bottle carriers are stacked on top of one another unless the weight on the cover of each supporting carrier is supported by the bottles within the carrier, rather than by the walls of the carrier, the walls will eventually weaken and deform, unless they are made of unnecessaraily heavy material which would increase the cost of the carrier.

Thus, the shipment of full bottles of one height in a case and the return of the empty bottles of a lesser height in the same case poses a problem, the solution of which is very satisfactorily achieved by this invention.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a dual depth paperboard bottle carrier adapted for stacking when filled with bottles of one of two different heights, whereby, in either case, the weight on the supportin carrier is carried directly by the bottles enclosed therein.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision, in a carrier of the type described, of a dual hinge arrangement for attaching the cover lids to the body of the carrier in such a way that the cover is tree to pivot, with respect to the carrier side wall, about either of a plurality of spaced parallel hinge lines.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from an examination of the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a bottle carrier embodying features of the invention, with portions of each cover lid broken away and shown in open position, and with the bottles in one side of the carrier capped and the bottles in the other side of the carrier uncapped to illustrate the relationship of the cover lids to the bottles in their respective positions;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the blank from which the body of the container of FIGURE 1 may be formed;

FIGURE 3 is a plan View of the blank from which an end of the carrier of FIGURE 1 may he formed;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a container similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 1, but of a modified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the blank from which the body of the carrier of FIGURE 4 may be formed.

It will be understood that certain elements have been intentionally omitted from certain views, where they are believed to be illustrated to better advantage in other views.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of the invention, it will be seen that the carrier, indicated generally at C, may be formed from a pair of blanks of suitable sheet material such as foldable paperboard and designated as B and B", illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, respectively.

Now referring particularly to FIGURE 2, it will be seen that the blank B, used to form the body of the carrier, is symmetrical and includes a centrally located generally rectangular bottom wall panel 26 having hingedly attached to its opposite side edges, along parallel hinge lines 22 extending transversely of the blank, a pair of generally rectangnilar side wall panels 24.

Each of the side wall panels 24 has hingedly attached to its outside edge, along a hinge line 2 6, a relatively narrow elongated hinge panel 28 which preferably extends the entire length of side wall panel 24. A cover or lid panel 3%} is hinged'ly attached to the other edge of each hinge panel 23 along a hinge line 3 2. At its outer edge there is hingedly attached to each cover lid panel 3%, along a hinge line 34, a lid center flange outer panel 36 which, in turn, has hingedly attached to its outer edge, along a hinge line 39, a lid center flange inner panel 33.

At the end edges of bottom panel 29 and side panels 24 there are hingediy attached pairs or" bottom wall panel end flanges 4t) and side wall panel end flanges 42, respectively. Also attached to opposite ends of each of the lid panels 36 is a lid end flange 44 which is divided into a pair of end and center sections 46 and 48, respectively by a transverse score line which is generally in alignment with the related hinge line 34 which connects the lid panel 34} to its adjacent lid center flange outer panel 35. It will be noted that sections '48 of the lid end flanges 44 are free from attachment to the lid center flange panels so that they can be folded around and tucked in between the inner and outer panels of the cover center flange, as shown in FIGURE 1.

Now turning to FIGURE 3 it will be seen that each end wall of the carrier may be formed from a generally rectangular blank B" which comprises a main end wall panel 5% hav n hingedly attached to its upper edge, along hinge 5-2, an interrupted end wall flange 54. The panel So is notched as at 56, to interrupt the panel 54, for the purpose of forming the lid center flange retaining slot 57, as seen in FIGURE 1 of the drawing. Also, panel 5% may be provided with an opening 53 adapted to serve as a hand grip hole which is also shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing.

In forming the carrier, side wall panels 24 are folded up from the bottom wall panel with the end flanges 4t and 4C6.v of the bottom and side panels, respectively, folded into overlapped relation with each related end wall panel Sil Flange 5d of each panel 5% is folded downwardly about hinge line 52, and the end wall panel is stitched to flanges of the body of the container to provide the box like structure illustrated in FIGURE '1. In forming the cover of the container of the separate lid sections the center and end flange-s of the lid are folded over into the position illustrated in FIGURE 1 and may be stitched to render them secure.

The carrier may be provided with a conventional partition P, which is not shown in detail as it does not form an essential part of this invention.

It will be noted that the cover is comprised of a pair of lids 359 each of which are connected to their related side wall panels 24 by the hinge panel 28, As best seen in FIGURE 1 the function of the hinge panel is to permit the cover to pivot or angle about either hinge line 26 or 32 as may be necessary to position the cover at the height required for each lid to rest on and be supported directly by the bottles in the carrier. When the carrier is filled with capped bottles, as seen in the right hand side of FIGURE 1, each lid is in a more elevated position than it is when the carrier is filled with uncapped bottles, as seen on the left side of FIGURE 1. This flexible arrangement is accomplished by the novel hinge panel 23.

A modified form of the invention is shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 wherein a comparable hinge panel 128 is employed to connect each side wall panel to the related cover lid panel. The only dilference in this construction is that hinge panel 128 is provided with an additional score line 129' dividing the panel into a pair of sections 123:; and 12832 which are hinged to the side wall panel and cover lid along the hinge lines 126 and 132, respectively.

This embodiment functions in the same manner as the previous embodiment, except that additional score line 12$ aifords even greater flexibility in permitting cover lid to adjust to the necessary height, depending upon the height of the bottles in the carrier.

In either embodiment it will be understood that because of the novel hinge means for the cover lids the cover will always be supported directly on the bottles regardless of whether the bottles are capped or uncapped, so that the total Weight on the cover, when the carrier is stacked with like carriers, will always be born directly by the bottles, thus reducing the stress placed upon the side walls of the carrier, without requiring different size carriers for bottles of difierent heights.

I claim:

A reusable, multi-trip, dual-depth container, suitable for use in transporting filled, capped, buegelverschluss" type bottles of one height in one direct-ion and returning empty, un capped bottles of a lesser height, having a cover posid tionable at selectively alternate heights, so that when the container is stacked with similar containers the cover will be supported by the bottles contained therein whether the bottles are all capped or all uncapped, comprising:

(a) a bottom Wall;

([2) opposed pairs of side and end walls upstanding therefrom and hingedly interconnected to form a tubular enclosure open at the top;

(0) a reclosable cover including a pair of cover sections disposed in generally co-planar relation with their innet extremities meeting intermediate the side Walls when the cover is in closed condition;

(d) said cover sections having opposite end portions removably supported by respective end walls;

(c) said end portions being free from attachment to said end walls, so that the cover sections may be readily moved from open to closed position; and

(f) hinge means connecting the outer extremities of said cover sections to upper portions of respective side walls;

(g) said hinge means including a hinge panel extending longitudinally of the container with its opposed side edges hinged to each cover seection and related side wall, respectively, along spaced paralel hinge lines, so that each cover section is free to pivot about either hinge line to provide selectively alternative heights for the cover in closed position.

Reterenees Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,075,617 Kilmar Mar. 30, 1937 2,077,694 Hinton Apr. 20, 1937 

